Cats are harmless, they won’t infect you, say doctors

The domestic cat has become an endangered species. The cat — both stray and domesticated— has been forced to flee for its life and that of its litter of kittens since panic and fear gripped parts of the country about two weeks ago that the cat hosts disease similar to HIV, and that it could be passed on to humans.

Whereas Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) is an immune-deficiency disease reserved for cats alone, the domestic cat is being hunted down in parts of Juja and Kabete in Nairobi, Kisumu and other parts of the country for fear that this disease can spread to humans.

However, an animal protection agency and an animal health expert have moved to allay the fears.  Dr Ismael Thoya of the Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animal Health terms it unfortunate that due to similarities between FIV and HIV people feel their lives are in danger.

“We reiterate that although FIV and HIV virus are related, they are also different. Cats cannot be infected by the human version of HIV while humans cannot be infected by the cat virus. This reaction is therefore uncalled for,” Dr Thoya, a veterinary doctor, said in an interview.   He discourages the cruelty meted out on domestic cats, terming it a crime.

“The domestic animal welfare, including cats, are protected by the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act CAP 360. It is therefore illegal for members of the public to go about killing cats,” he says.

Dr Thoya urges the public to direct their synergies at preventing zoonotic diseases such as rabies, which are transmitted from animals to human beings because they pose more danger to man.

“Provide regular and adequate meals and a comfortable environment for the pets as well as up to date vaccination against other serious diseases such as rabies, which can infect people,” he says.

Dr Tequiero Abuom, a lecturer at the University of Nairobi’s Department of Clinical Studies, says FIV, which is a slow-acting member of a retrovirus family, is no threat to humans.

“There is no evidence that the virus can infect people. The FIV has been shown to reduce the activity of an animal’s immune system,” he says.

According to Dr Abuom, a similar immune-system affecting disease — Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) — is also found in monkeys; Bovine Immunodeficiency Virus (BIV) in cows and Human Immunodeficiency (HIV) in man. The three viruses are restricted to their hosts.

“These viral diseases are all related and they affect the immune system, weakening the hosts and making them unable to fight off opportunistic infections. The viruses remain with their hosts, thus BIV is only found in cattle, HIV in man and FIV in cats,” Dr Abuom says. For cat owners, Dr Abuom cites fever, lack of appetite, loss of considerable weight within a short time, enlarged lymph nodes and abortion of kittens in infected cats.

Dr Abuom points out that the main mode of transmission among cats is through bite wounds and scratches, with further scientific research showing aggressive male outdoor cats more likely to be infected with FIV than their indoor female counterparts. It can also be transmitted via blood, from the mother cat to her kittens before birth and from milk from an infected mother cat. Though there are no conclusive and reliable studies in Kenya that estimate the number of cats with the disease, Dr Abuom extrapolates from research done in the US at a prevalence of about 1.5 to three per cent of the cat population in a country.

However, Dr Abuom acknowledges that the infected cat has a shorter lifespan. “An average cat’s lifespan is about 10 to 15 years but when infected by FIV, it is more susceptible to opportunistic infections that affect its quality of life,” he says, adding that a balanced diet is critical for the infected cat and so are frequent medical appointments to treat the opportunistic infections. Though a vaccine is available with 82 per cent efficiency in other parts of the world to protect the cats from FIV, Dr Abuom does not recommend it in Kenya because it is not available. He advises that the infected cat is sterilised to prevent transmission of the virus to kittens.

Whereas infection of the cat with FIV may not be evident in the initial stages, Dr Abuom says that when the feline’s immune system is highly compromised, other prevalent signs would include a rough and poor coat, inflammation of the gums and persistent diarrhoea. Some forms of cancer may also take opportunity of the weakened immune system. As is common with other viruses in this family, the virus will not survive outside the cat for more than a few hours.

But how can you protect your cat from infection? Dr Abuom advocates for responsible cat ownership, where the pet is kept indoors, away from potentially infected cats that might bite it, thus increasing the likelihood of contracting FIV.

He calls for more studies involving larger populations of cats in order to establish the burden of the disease in the country, even as he reiterates that the fears that it would spread to humans are unfounded.